Renault Trafic misfires or does not start at all
We recently had in our shop this 2007-2014 Renault Trafic 2L diesel with M9R engine code (similar to Vauxhall Vivaro and Nissan Primastar) for misfiring at almost every attempt of starting the vehicle or not starting at all.
To properly diagnose the issue and repair it, we ran a full scan of the engine. The scan came back with two faults for cylinder 1 and cylinder 2, both for the injector control circuit having an open circuit. The fault codes for the two cylinders are:
- Cylinder 1-P0201(10) – D026 Cylinder 1 Injector Control Circuit- Open Circuit;
- Cylinder 2-P0202(20) – D027 Cylinder 2 Injector Control Circuit- Open Circuit.
What open circuit means, what can cause it and why the car does not start?
As it is illustrated in the photo above, and judging from the amount of rust and water sitting on top of the cylinder head, is that the water is the culprit for the two faults. Now let’s take it from the top.
What is an open circuit?
An open circuit is an interruption of a circuit that will prevent current to flow. An open circuit can be done by using a fuse, breaker, or switch. By the same token, an open circuit can occur unintentionally, usually, when a circuit path on a circuit board or an electric wire is short-circuited that will prevent current flow. Now this will bring up the next question.
What is a short circuit, and how does it occur?
A short circuit is an electrical current flow on the wrong path with little to no electrical resistance. If you ever saw sparks in or near outlets or breaker panels, that was indeed a short circuit. Did you know that short circuits are the leading cause of structural fires throughout the world? Having said that, using qualified tradespersons is a must to ensure that when dealing with electricity, all rules and guidelines are applied, so any risks of electrocution and or fire are reduced to a minimum or zero if possible. Now, because it is going to come up later, we have one last question to clear up before we go into the solutions we found for our Renault Traffic.
What is a scuttle panel on a car?
A scuttle panel is a panel that rests in between the windshield and the bonnet with the sole purpose of diverting the water from the windshield. The seriousness of any possible issues that can arise from a broken scuttle panel or clogged drain pipe can vary from just a cosmetic perspective to a more serious problem that may result in a much higher repair cost.
Having explained what scuttle panel, open circuit and short circuit are, we can now dig deeper and find out what exactly happened and what are the steps to remediate the issues at hand. We now know that, after scanning the engine, the injectors from cylinder 1 and cylinder 2 have an open circuit which will require a replacement of those injectors. But considering the amount of water sitting still at the top of the cylinders head and the rust, replacing all four injectors made more sense, as it was unknown the life span left in the other two injectors.
6 steps to replace the fuel injectors for Renault Trafic:
- Gaining access to the fuel injectors;
- Remove the fuel injectors;
- Prepare and install new fuel injectors;
- Reinstall the heater blower, engine breather, fuel pipes, fuel return, electrical connectors;
- Program the injectors;
- Clean and reseal the scuttle panel.
Step 1: Gaining access to the fuel injectors
The process of accessing the fuel injectors consists in:
- the removal of the heater blower;
- the removal of the engine breather;
- the removal of the fuel pipes;
- the removal of the fuel return;
- the removal of the electrical connectors.
After the connectors were removed, it was found that three of the four injectors had the rubber grommet missing, which allowed water to enter into the connections and short circuit the fuel injectors.
Step 2: Remove the fuel injectors
To extract the fuel injectors and have them replaced, the fuel injectors’ bolts have to be removed first. As shown in the photo below, our bolts came out in one piece but rusted.
At this point, we realised that the amount of water that sat on top of the cylinder head for a prolonged time was enough to seep through and seize the injectors. It is worth mentioning that one of the four bolts removed was shorter than the others, which made us realise that a DIY was attempted. Seeing how rusty the fuel injector bolts were after removal, it became clear for us that the best approach on the removal of the injectors is by using the hydraulic equipment, as we, at this point, assuming that the injectors were seized. Request a quote!
Much to our surprise, 3 out of the 4 fuel injectors came out in one piece, but as you can see there is a lot of corrosion on the injectors due to the ingress of water, corrosion is also visible on the electrical part which can short-circuit the injectors.
The fourth is not coming out, and we must adopt another method to extract it. We will break the electric part of the injector and install a different adapter to have more grip on the injector.
The fourth one is broken into pieces.
We are making a thread on the injector’s sleeve and use a double-threaded bar and the hydraulic piston to extract the part left inside.
Unfortunately, the nozzle remained inside, and we will use the sleeve as a guide to drill to extract the nozzle. We will apply the same technique to get out the last piece of the injector.
Changing our method helped us in removing the last fuel injector. Click to call us!
Step 3: Prepare and install new fuel injectors
Now that we have removed the fuel injectors and fuel injectors bolts, the next important step that should never be overlooked when replacing fuel injectors is to clean the bolts and injectors holes and cut the seats to ensure a smooth and proper installation.
Once this step is complete, we will install new washers, and the fuel injectors can be dropped in each hole and secured with new fuel injectors bolts while reusing the clamps as they’re ok.
Step 4: Reinstall everything.
By now, it’s been a few good hours of hard work, but nonetheless, the time has come to put everything(see step 1) back together, including the rubber grommets on the electrical connectors.
Step 5: Program the new fuel injectors
Do fuel injectors need to be programmed? Glad you asked. Whether new or refurbished fuel injectors, they all need to be programmed with the ECU to ensure that they all deliver the right amount of fuel at the right time to meet all emission guidelines.
Step 6: Clean and reseal the scuttle panel
The scuttle panel, the real culprit of this problem!
Clean the scuttle panel, unclog the drain pipes and reattach using silicone to properly seal and ensure that the water will only be diverted toward the drain pipes.
Cleaning the panel, drain pipes from time to time, and sealing the panel with silicone would save you a lot of money on any car or van but more particularly on Vauxhall Vivaro, Renault Trafic, or Nissan Primastar models from 2007 to 2014!
